About

Update: 16 August 2012

Eirik O’taku in Second Life

Eric T. Jorgensen is a native Seattleite, a genealogist since childhood, a University of Washington graduate, a collegiate tutor, a local non-profit webmaster, and a former ISP administrator. He can also be occasionally found in Second Life as “Eirik O’taku” (or “eirikotaku resident” depending on browser version), frequenting online genealogy discussion groups and other areas.

The namesake for the “Eirik O’taku” avatar is a paternal 13th great-grandfather, Eirik Overå (born likely before 1460, since a son was born in 1480) of Stranda, Møre og Romsdal, Norway — the same village that Eric’s grandfather emigrated from when he came to the USA in 1923. “O’taku” derives from an archaic honorary/polite Japanese term for someone’s home (o-taku).

(The more current “otaku” form associated with fandom unfortunately has a somewhat derogatory meaning as “a fan so obsessed with something that they don’t leave their home”. Eric is less concerned with that, as similar terms like “geek” and “nerd” are hints to his technology skills, too, and he has plenty of witnesses to activities outside his home.)